The Only Thing To Fear
by Rave72
Summary: Being a psychiatrist at Arkham means dealing with some of the most dangerous criminals in Gotham. Zoé knew this when she took the job. But she had no idea that during her first week, all of these criminals would break out of their cells and take over the island. Will she be able to survive, with the help of an unlikely ally?
1. The First Session

**Author's note: This new story is the reason I haven't updated my Kingdom Hearts story in forever... Anyway, first thing I wanna say is that this story _does_ have spoilers. If you have not played Batman: Arkham Asylum, I wouldn't recommend reading this. If you do, don't complain about having the game ruined, blah blah blah... Also, the title is really long, so I'm going to change it eventually. If I can ever think of anything. Enjoy!**

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Zoé sat at her desk in her office, filling out paperwork. She had been working for three hours, and had barely made a dent in the large stack of papers. There was a packet for each of the Arkham patients she had seen that week, and each one needed to be filled out and signed, reporting on their progress. So far, Zoé was only in the C's.

The name on the next packet caught her eye, and Zoé reached over to grab it, peering down at the top sheet with a frown.

Crane, Jonathan.

Zoé could remember their appointment clearly. She had just started her job as one of Arkham Asylum's psychiatrists, and it was her first time with that particular patient.

Crane was a former doctor at Arkham, who had been using his patients for expirements with a fear-inducing toxic he had created. After the incident earlier that year, he had been locked up in the very asylum he had kept captive in the clutches of fear.

Zoé had never been one to fear the criminals that stalked the streets of Gotham, and she feared the ones in Arkham even less. So when she met with her patients, she didn't show the same cautiousness that the other doctors did. Because she was not afraid, she was able to communicate with the patients in a way no one else could.

Jonathan Crane was no different.

Two guards escorted him into the room and sat him down in the chair across from Zoé, taking the handcuffs off of his wrists and cuffing his ankle to the chairleg instead. The man looked around the room, his bright green eyes taking in all the details before finally falling on Zoé.

Zoé met his level gaze with one of her own as she reached for the recorder. She turned it on and placed it on the table between them. It took a moment for it to warm up, and while they were waiting, Zoé flipped through Crane's file, skimming over the words without really reading them. A high-pitched beep signaled that the recorder was ready, and Zoé cleared her throat.

"Jonathan Crane, age 33. In Arkham a third time for threatening Gotham City with his toxin." She said, her voice loud enough that the recorder could pick it up. It was the usual way to start the appointments.

One of the guards, a close friend by the name of Zane who had gotten Zoé the interview for her job, winked at her and flashed her a goofy grin. Zoé rolled her eyes and made a shooing motion at him. It was standard procedure for the guards to wait outside the room so that they could provide protection without intruding on the patient's privacy, but Zane always hesitated to leave Zoé alone with a criminal.

After a short moment, Zane shrugged, rested his gun against his shoulder, and walked out the door, shutting it behind him. Zoé turned her attention back to Jonathan and frowned when she saw he was still looking at her. Had he been studying her that whole time? By the troubled expression he wore, Zoé could tell what he was looking at; the long scar that stretched from above her right eyebrow to the jawline on the left side of her face. Zoé's face burned red with embarrassment, and she was suddenly overcome with the urge to hide the scar. Instead, she brushed her platinum-blonde hair out of her face and acted like she hadn't noticed.

She cleared her throat, interrupting the uncomfortable silence and causing Jonathon to start. The man looked down at his hands, which he had clasped together in his lap.

"How have you been?" Zoé asked, her tone light. She knew that past sessions with Jonathon had been inconclusive, and had a feeling her attempt wouldn't be any more successful. Nevertheless, she was determined to get some kind of outcome.

"I've been fine." Jonathan replied. He sounded distant, nothing like in the patient interviews Zoé had listened to earlier that day. In the interviews, he had sounded confident, fearless even. Now he just sounded empty. Zoé leaned forward and crossed her arms on the desk in front of her.

"Mister Crane-"

"Doctor." Jonathan interrupted. Zoé smiled; she did the same thing whenever people called her Miss Tremaine.

"Doctor Crane," She corrected herself. "You were unresponsive during your previous sessions with the last doctor. Is there a reason for this? Did you not like that doctor?"

"Stephen had a very weak mind, and his questions bored me."

"Is that why you used your gas on him? Because he was weak-minded?"

"Of course. The asylum is much better off without him, wouldn't you agree?"

Zoé raised an eyebrow, but was otherwise unfazed by Jonathan's response. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but Jonathan beat her to it.

"Let me ask you something, Doctor." He said, finally looking up to meet her eyes. "Everyone else is scared of me, or rather, what I can do to them. Why not you?"

The question took Zoé by surprise, and it took her a moment to register what he had asked.

"I don't see how this is relevant to you." She said.

"Come on, Doctor. Humor me."

Zoé took a deep breath, drumming her fingers on the table.

"My father was a criminal, and a rather dangerous one at that. So was my mother." She avoided looking at Jonathan as she spoke. "Growing up with the two of them showed me that even the most powerful of villains has a soft side."

"'Was'? What happened?" Jonathan sounded genuinly interested, and for a brief second, Zoé was tempted to tell him. But she shook her head and cleared her expression.

"This session is for you, not me."

Jonathan looked as if he had something he wanted to say, but instead, he crossed his arms and kept silent. The door opened and Zane looked in, tapping his watch. A glance at the clock told Zoé that they were almost out of time.

"There is more for us to talk about, but I'm afraid we've come to the end of our session." Zoé said, sitting up straighter in her chair. Zane and the other guard walked into the room and moved the handcuffs back to Jonathan's wrists.

"I will see you again in a week." Zoé switched off the recorder as she spoke.

"Good-bye, Doctor."

xxx

Zoé looked down at the packet, a slight frown on her face. That session had been strange, different from all of the others. Compared to the other patients, there had been no headway. Just like with the previous doctor, Jonathan had managed to dodge the session completely, and had even turned it around on her.

"Well, there's a reason he was one of the most brilliant minds in Arkham..." She muttered to herself, picking up her pen to fill out and sign the file.

Even though she hated to do it, Zoé's report was extremely short. There had been no progress, so there was nothing to write. After signing the file, she set it to the side and started on the next one. Only half a stack left.

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**Hope you liked it. I've actually already written the second chapter, but I don't know when it will be uploaded. Either later tonight, or tomorrow.**


	2. New Arrival

**There is something that has been bugging me for a while. People read my stories, but they do not leave reviews. The reviews are one of the main reasons I am doing this. Whether you like the story or not, please leave a review. That way I know people are actually reading this, and I can figure out ways to improve. If I don't start getting reviews, I might stop uploading my stories.**

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"Zoé? Zoé, wake up."

Zoé awoke to someone shaking her shoulder, and looked up to see Zane standing over her. She swatted his hand away and sat up.

"You fell asleep at work again." Zane said, tsking. He sat a cup of coffee down in front of Zoé, then dragged the extra chair over and sat down. "Honestly, when's the last time you went home?"

Zoé smiled gratefully and picked up the coffee, taking a small sip.

"I think I went home Monday." She said, twirling the little straw to better mix the creamer.

"It's Friday. You've been here all week, and you aren't even supposed to work today." Zane rested his elbow on the table and his chin in the palm of his hand. "I don't see how you can stand to be here all the time, surrounded by all these insane people."

"It doesn't bother me. I like being here, where I can help if something goes wrong. I can't do that if I'm at home."

Zane nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense, I guess." He said.

Zoé smiled, then stiffled a yawn. Zane reached behind him and picked up a bag.

"Here, a change of clothes. What you're wearing now looks so... Slept in."

Zoé took the bag and got up to go change in the small bathroom. There was a brush and a ribbon in the bag as well. She ran the brush through her hair and quickly tied it back into a ponytail, then walked back to her office. When she got back, Zane had already left, leaving behind a note that said 'Don't over work yourself, and go home tonight! -Z'. Zoé smiled and tossed the bag into a corner.

The intercom screeched, and Zoé paused to listen.

"Attention Arkham administration. A new arrival is being escorted into the building."

_A new arrival? _Zoé looked up at the intercom, then rushed out of the room. She caught sight of one of the guards and waved at him. He turned to face her, and she recognized him as one of Zane's friends. She was pretty sure his name was Alex.

"Hey. What's going on?" She asked.

"They've caught the Joker. He's being brought in by the Batman himself." Alex replied. He sounded excited, and Zoé had to admit that she was a little intrigued. The Joker, being caught this easily? That never happened. Even the timing was strange. Blackgate prisoners had just been transferred to Arkham due to an explosion.

"I can't believe they caught him. Again." Zoé said, leaning against the wall. Alex shrugged.

"Maybe he saw the error of his ways." He suggested.

"The Joker? Doubtful."

"Hey, it's possible. Everyone has a conscience, even if it is buried deep inside them."

"How philosophical. But I still don't think that's it. Something isn't right." Zoé looked around the long hallway, trying to figure out why things felt so wrong. "I just don't know what yet."

"Don't you have to see patients today?" Alex asked, running a hand through his spiky brown hair.

"I wasn't even supposed to come in today." Zoé admitted. "I fell asleep filling out patient files." Alex nodded.

"Well, take it easy. All this working isn't good for you." He said. "I'll see you later. Gotta get back to-" He cut off suddenly as the alarm signalling a prisoner escape went off, then stopped and abruptly as it had started. Whatever he said next was drowned out by gunfire from just around the corner.

Alex cursed and took off down the hallway, leaving Zoé by herself. She stood there hopelessly for a moment, surrounded by the sounds of gunfire and yelling.

"Zoé!" Someone yelled from behind her, and Zoé whirled to see who it was.

"Zane! What happened?"

"It was all a setup. The Joker got away, and he's released all of the inmates! Even the explosion at Blackgate was part of the plan, so he could have more people on his side."

"I knew something wasn't right..." Zoé muttered, looking at the floor. Zane put a hand on her shoulder.

"Have you been alone this whole time?" He asked. Zoé shook her head.

"Alex was here, but he ran off when the alram started."

"Which way?"

Zoé pointed down the hall in the opposite direction. Zane pulled out a pistol and pressed it into Zoé's hand.

"Go hide." He said. "If you see an inmate, shoot them. If you hesitate, they won't show you the same mercy."

After giving her a brief hug, Zane sprinted down the hall to join his friend in the fight.

"Be careful." Zoé called, but he was already too far away to hear it.


	3. Hostage

**Here's a somewhat long chapter, to make up for the last one being so short ^-^ I'm thinking about adding a character description at the end of each chapter whenever I introduce a new character, but I'm not sure yet... what do you guys think?**

**Reginsak: Thank you so much! That's the best review I have ever gotten on one of my stories, and it means a lot :) I wish all of my reviewers went as in depth as that! **

**Oh, one last thing before you start reading. I really hope you guys have played the game, because my description of a certain person that appears in this chapter really sucks... Hopefully, you know what he looks like. Okay, now you can start reading! :D**

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It is always difficult to find a place to hide in a situation where time is everything. You only have so long to figure out where the person you are hiding from will look last. It always helps to know something about the person, but in the case where there are multiple assailants, that is not an option. Which leaves somewhere you are familiar with as the best choice.

This is what Zoé decided on as she ran back to her office. Even if it wasn't the best hiding place, it was well defendable, and she could stay there for a while, with all the food she had stashed in there.

Unfortunately, when Zoé rounded the corner to her office, the way was blocked by a pile of rubble. The ceiling had collapsed at some point, probably from the stress of too much gunfire. Zoé sighed.

_So much for that... _She thought, putting her hands on her hips. The weight in her coat pocket served as a constant reminder of the gun Zane had given her. She reached in and wrapped her hand around the handle, immediately feeling safer. Of course she knew how to shoot; what self-respecting daughter-of-a-criminal didn't?

Rapid footsteps came from behind, and Zoé slowly slid her finger up to the gun, cocking her head to the side to listen. When the footsteps were close enough, she spun around and raised the weapon.

The barrel of the gun connected with something with a metallic _clang_, jarring Zoé's arm and giving her a chance to look at the person that had been coming up behind her.

It was a man, with a cloth mask covering his face and a hood pulled up over that. Where the mask's mouth was, he had attached two gas mask filters. The hood stretched down past his shoulders, serving as a kind of wrap. He had discarded his shirt, and was so thin that his ribs could be seen. He'd blocked the barrel of the gun with the needles on syringes that were attached to his right hand, and were filled with a golden liquid. Even in the strange get-up, Zoé knew who it was, and her eyes widened.

"Crane."

The man stared at her for a moment, seeming to be just as shocked as she was. More footsteps, maybe five people, echoed off of the walls. Jonathan glanced behind him, then grabbed Zoé's arm and pulled her to him, spinning her around so that her back was to him and pressing two of the needles against her cheek.

"Don't move." He told her.

He must have placed a voice-changer into his mask, making his voice monochromatic, and coming from that, telling her not to move sounded like a threat. Whether it was or not, Zoé did not want to risk it, and held her body completely still.

The mystery people finally caught up. Zoé had been right when she guessed the number- five Blackgate prisoners stood before them, and each was about three times Jonathan's size. But he didn't seem intimidated.

"Hand her over, Crane." The lead inmate said, hoisting his crowbar onto his shoulder.

"I don't think so." Jonathan replied calmly.

"Joker wants all of the doctors gathered together and held as hostages." Another inmate spoke up, stepping forward. This one had no weapon, but his hands were bigger than his head.

"She's mine. Go torment someone else."

His response only seemed to anger the inmates, and the leader took a menacing step forward.

"We were told by the boss that you were one of the guests for his party." He said. "But he didn't say you had to arrive in one piece."

Jonathan chuckled, and removed his syringes from Zoé's cheek, pushing her out of the way.

"I was hoping you would say that." He said.

The lead inmate growled and launched himself at Jonathan, his crowbar raised. In one swift motion, Jonathan reached forward and stabbed the syringes into the man's side. The inmates may have been larger than him, but Jonathan had speed on his side.

Almost immediately, the man shrieked and started clawing at his face.

"Get 'em off me! Oh god, they're all over me!" He scratched at his arms and bare chest, leaving behind long, bloody marks. Jonathan straightened and looked at the other four inmates, who were gaping at the man in front of them. The one with the massive hands rubbed the back of his head.

"Y'know, we're on the same side here. I'll just tell the boss that she's with you. Shouldn't be a problem." He stammered. The other three nodded quickly. "Let's get outta here." He cast one last look at their fallen leader, then spun on his heel, the others following close behind.

"Cowards." Jonathan said, sounding pleased. He turned to face Zoé, who quickly brought up her gun again. "You wouldn't shoot the one that saved you."

Zane's voiced echoed in Zoé's head; _If you see an inmate, do not hesitate to shoot them. If you do, they will not show you the same mercy._

"Would you like to test that theory?" She asked, putting more pressure on the trigger. There was no way she could bring herself to shoot anyone, not even an inmate, but Jonathan didn't know that.

Jonathan held out his hand. "Give me the gun." He said, the same calmness from before back in his voice. Zoé didn't respond, looking at him over the barrel. With a sigh, he reached up to pushed back his hood and pull off the mask, revealing the deceptively kind face underneath. His brown hair was tousled, and stuck up in a few places.

"Doctor Tremaine, give me the gun."

Zoé hesitated, unwilling to give up her only means of protection. There was nothing stopping Jonathan from shooting her once he had the gun. Of course, if she didn't give it to him, all he had to do was inject her with his fear toxin and take it by force.

With trembling hands, Zoé held out the gun so that Jonathan could take it. He immediately tossed it out of an open window. Zoé dropped her hands to her sides and clenched them into fists.

"Why did you help me?" She demanded. Jonathan tipped his head to the side, almost perfectly mimicking what Zoé had done when he was coming up behind her.

"Who says I'm helping you? For all you know, I may have saved you just to torture you myself." He suggested, taking a step forward. "I don't think you realize just how dangerous of a situation you are in."

"If you are trying to intimidate me, Doctor Crane, it's not working."Zoé retorted. "I'm not scared."

"Well, you should be." Jonathan replied. "If you are not scared of me, then maybe I should just inject you with my toxin. It would be interesting to see if the fearless doctor truly is fearless."

Zoé's eyes windened, and she looked at the inmate behind Jonathon. He was rocking back and forth with his knees pulled up to his chest, mumbling incoherently. It was sad the see the man reduced to such a sad state, even if he was an inmate. Zoé didn't want to become like him.

When she looked back at Jonathan, he had taken several more steps forward. Zoé nearly tripped in her desperation to get away from him. A clock on the wall chimed, signaling that it was midnight. Jonathan sighed again and fixed his mask back over his face, pulling the hood up.

"Unfortunately, it will have to wait." he said. "I have somewhere to be, and things to do when I get there."

Jonathan reached out and grabbed Zoé's arm again with his left hand, pulling her after him as he started down the hall. After several twisting turns, he moved so that he was walking in front of her, and for a split second, Zoé was tempted to start running and get as far away from Jonathan as possible. But the realization that there were things far more dangerous than Crane wandering around the island quickly smothered that idea.

Zoé studied every room they went through, ignoring the multitude of inmates that stared at the two of them as they passed. It looked as if Jonathan was leading her to the medical center lobby, which was in the center of the building. Sure enough, they reached a pair of double-doors that opened up into the large room. The bodies of guards littered the floor, and were being haphazardly thrown into a corner by inmates so that they weren't in the way.

Jonathan walked past the bodies without so much as glancing at them, as if it were totally normal for a room to be full of dead people. Zoé, however, could not stop staring down at each of the men she passed, wondering if it was Zane or Alex. But she never saw either of them.

The inmates in the room paid no mind to them as they finished moving the bodies and returned to their patroles. Jonathan stopped at the elevator on the third level and pressed the button to call it. While they were waiting, Zoé took the chance to look around the room. There were three levels: The bottom level, which had the showers and several minuscule operating rooms, along with a door with three signs next to it that said "Observation", "Surgery", and "X-Ray"; the middle level, which had more operation rooms, and was the level that they had entered the room at; and the top level, which had the offices of the minor doctors, a few more cubicles, and the elevator that went down to the morgue.

Crouched in the corner by the elevator were two doctors that Zoé hadn't noticed before. Two more had been strapped to the adjustable gurnies that were used when an injured patient was brought in from the penitentiary. _The inmate from before wasn't lying about Joker wanting to take the doctors hostage, _Zoé thought. One of the doctors, a woman that looked to be about three years older than Zoé, looked up at her with pleading eyes and grabbed the hem of Zoé's lab coat.

"Please. You have to help us." She said.

"Don't look at them." Jonathan snapped to Zoé as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. He stepped inside, and Zoé followed him in, stopping beside him.

"Why are we going to the morgue?" She asked.

"I have a little surprise to set up for Batman." Jonathan replied as the elevator doors shut, and Zoé lost her last chance to escape.

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**Okay, show of hands; who thought of the show Burn Notice during that first paragraph? The first thing that popped into my head as I was writing that was "Hmm, I sound like Michael." xD Anyway, I noticed I did not mention this in the previous chapter, so in case you were confused when I mention the clock chiming at midnight, Zoé had slept from 3:00am that morning when she finished the paperwork to about 11:15pm that night (Yes, it is possible. I've done it before). Hope that cleared things up a little bit. Please tell me if you noticed any typos (My computer does not have spell check, and I was typing fast, so I may have messed some things up), and please review!**


	4. Hope?

**Here it is- Chapter four! I enjoyed writing this chapter ^-^ Hope you guys enjoy reading it.**

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The ride in the elevator seemed agonizingly long. Neither Jonathan

nor Zoé said a word, and the silence was thick around them. Zoé kept thinking of questions to ask, but she wasn't sure how far the man's patience would stretch.

She turned around to look at the small screen behind them curiously, wondering how often it was used. Not that she really cared, but it gave her something to think about. Just as she began to get curious, the elevator screeched to a sudden stop. Something told Zoé that it wasn't because they had reached the bottom.

The screen became staticky, and the Joker's face appeared. He was lounging in a swivel chair, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Johnny-boy! I hear you've stolen one of my doctors." The strange man said, leaning forward into his chair. Jonathon slowly turned to face the screen.

"I would hardly say she is _your _doctor." Zoé thought she heard a tinge of annoyance in what he said, but with his voice disguised the way it was, there was no way to be sure.

"Isn't she though?" The Joker replied. "Seeing as how I am in charge now. And I need all the doctors I can get in order to make my party for the Batman a smash success!"

"Doctor Tremaine is new here, so she doesn't know anything about Project TITAN. She won't be of any use to you."

Joker leaned further into the camera, a frown on his pale face.

"What a waste." He complained. "And she's so cute, too." His comment caused Zoé to grimace, and she moved sideways so that Jonathon stood between her and the TV screen.

"If you do not mind, Joker, I have important things to do." Jonathan said.

"Of course, of course. Carry on." Joker waved as the screen blinked off. The elevator started back up again, and Jonathan made an exasperated noise.

"Annoying clown." He grumbled. The elevator finally reached the basement floor, dinging cheerfully as the doors opened. Jonathanallowed Zoé to exit first, following close behind.

They emerged into the secure access section of the basement. To their right was a small room with windows on two sides so that anyone in the hallway could look in. The walls of the room were plastered with posters of the Joker's face, and a small bust of Harley Quinn made it obvious who occupied that space.

Ahead of them was the rest of Secure Access. Jonathan walked through the gate as if he owned the place, with Zoé trailing after him. In the enclosed space at the center of the room were four men; an Arkham security guard, two doctors, and a patient. They stared at Jonathan and Zoé as they passed. The two doctors looked absolutely hopeless. Zoé jogged to catch up with Jonathan, who had already disappeared around the corner.

"Why were the men trapped in that room?" She asked. Jonath looked at her over his shoulder.

"I thought I would give Batman the honor of witnessing my latest experiment." He replied. "Why do you ask so many questions?"

"I'm a psychiatrist. It's my job."

"Your job is the least of your worries."

Zoé frowned and started to say something snide, but Jonathan cut her off with a sharp look. They had reached the doors to the morgue. Zoé lingered several feet behind as Jonathon pushed the doors open, not particularly wanting to go into a room full of dead people. Several gas cylinders were spread around the room, and Jonathan began sliding them into the small freezers that lined the walls. He took the last remaining cylinders back to the room that the men were trapped in and opened the door, throwing them in before relocking the door.

After a closer look at the room, Zoé noticed that there were more cylinders shoved into the vents near the ceiling. It was like he was going to gas the entire lower floor. How long had he been planning this?

Jonathan grabbed a long rag from a nearby table and wrapped it around Zoé's nose and mouth, tying it in a knot on the back of her head below her ponytail. She guessed it was to prevent her from inhaling the gas, but gave him a puzzled look anyway.

"What good are you as a hostage if your mind shatters?" He asked, ushering her into a caged in area at the back of secure access that housed the control panels and numerous other electronic equipment. "Stay in here, close your eyes, and keep your hands over your ears."

Zoé nodded and sat down with her back against one of the machines. She watched as Jonathan went back to the room the men were in. He tapped on the glass, then pulled out a small detonator-like device and pressed the little button right as the elevator on the far side of the room dinged. The fear gas began to flood the room, and Zoé was immensely grateful for the rag that was wrapped around her face.

She squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her hands over her ears, but she could still hear the men in the small room as they began to scream

"_Please, Doctor Crane, don't do this!_

"_There is no Crane…"_

"_They're all over me!"_

"… _Only Scarecrow!"_

Zoé pressed her hands harder against her ears, trying to block out their desperate cries. She sat like that for what seemed like forever, until everything was silent, then slowly opened her eyes. The think gas stung her eyes, making them water, and she quickly blinked away the moisture as she stood up on shaky legs.

She crept up to the glass and peered in. The four men had collapsed, and Zoé couldn't tell if they were dead or just unconscious. Jonathan was nowhere to be seen. He had most likely gone back to the morgue. Something silver glinted in the dull light, and Zoé knelt down to pick it up. It was a small bat-shaped piece of metal. Batman was there? She stood up with renewed hope, clutching the metal bat in her hand so tightly that it cut into her palm.

_I've got to tell him about the gas before it's too late. _She thought, starting for the gate, then paused. Jonathan's gas was very potent. If Batman was there, then it was already too late. Zoé only hoped he was strong enough to fight it.

After a moment's hesitation, Zoé poked her head out of the gate to look around. She couldn't remember how to get back to the morgue from there, but there was a large hole in the wall to the right that hadn't been there before. It opened up into on of the maintenance tunnels. Maybe if she followed that, she would be able to crawl through one of the vents in the hall outside of the morgue.

With a deep breath, Zoé ducked into the hole and started down the tunnel.

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**In case no one noticed, the italicized part near the end where Jonathan ****is speaking to the men in the room is an exact quote from the game. Just wanted to point that out. Anyway, hope it was good! Oh, and, please tell me if I did a good job with Joker. Please review! :3**


	5. Close Call

**Wow, 917 views so far, and it's only the fifth chapter! That's amazing! :D So sorry for the delay. I've had the chapter ready for a while, but I got kinda lazy. That, and, I've been pretty busy with school. On the bright side, mid-terms just came out, and I got all A's (Three of which were 100's) and one B! I'm so proud of myself, haha. I've also been planning out the plot for a new original story. I'm pretty excited about it. Anywho, even with all the time I took, this chapter still didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. Ah, well... At least I'm improving.** **Time for some review responses! :D You guys can totally skip these, unless you see your name in there somewhere.**

**Shadowsteed: I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far. And yep, I liked that part, too. ^-^ I couldn't resist putting it in there. The chapter just wouldn't have been complete without it, right?**

**Frosty Autumn: Oh. My gosh. Your's was the best review I have EVER gotten. Thanks so much! My apologies about the lack of descriptions. I got a little carried away with the villains, and I guess I just kinda forgot about it. I did mention that Zoé's hair is a platinum-blondish color in the first chapter, but you may have missed it. No biggy. ^-^ I'm not gonna go back and add descriptions in previous chapters, simply because it will take a while and I'm lazy. but I promise that I will add some in the near future. I'll also describe the inmates a little better. They weren't as important as characters, so I didn't really think about it. But since you've brought it up, I will fix it. Also, about the part where Zoé told Crane about her parents, that was completely intentional. I wanted people to realize that she is a little too trusting, but knows when to stop talking. And who knows, maybe he did start watching her, and that is how he found her so quickly. -Dramatic music- Anywho, I'm glad you like it. By the way, do you mind if I ask what you meant by "cliches"?**

**XxCupcake AssassinxX: Heh, yea, that's not a very smart move, is it? ^-^ Thanks for sticking with the story. It's nice to see the same people reviewing. Lets me know that they like it enough to keep reading. Oh, I forgot to reply to you review to Hostage, so here it is: I honestly hadn't planned on it sounding like Michael. It just kinda happened. But, it worked, so it's all good. I try to keep the communications between Zoé and other characters as realistic as possible, so I'm glad that's going as well as I thought. And, yeas, I know you really wanted me to upload this chapter soon. I was probably going to keep procrastinating, but I uploaded it tonight, just for you. Enjoy!**

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The tunnel was surprisingly spacious, so Zoé had no trouble moving through it. There were no twisting turns, no other ways to go. Just a straight path.

Zoé slid off of a ledge and onto the floor below, landing in a crouch. _How much farther is it? _She thought as she rounded a corner. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw a vent in the wall close to the floor. The cover had been pulled off and propped against the wall next to it. This must have been the way Batman had gone.

She crawled into the vent, glad that her small stature was finally good for something. The vent was short, with one turn before it began slanting upwards. The cover on the other end had been kicked away, and Zoé had to nudge it out of the way in order to get out of the vent.

At the end of the hall, where it split into two directions, someone sat with their back against the wall, their head sagging forward. I looked like one of the asylum's security guards. He was missing his helmet, and his navy blue uniform was torn in a couple places.

Zoé rushed over to the man and shook his shoulder. When he didn't move, she checked for a pulse. There wasn't one. She straightened and looked down the hall towards the morgue. There was no way she was going to go back to that room.

Zoé turned her back on the morgue and started for the other door. She had no idea what was behind it, but her only other option was to go back to the lobby, which was filled with Blackgate prisoners.

She pushed open one of the doors and peeked in. The door led to another section of the hallway that branched off in another direction, with a staircase at the end of the main corridor. Zoé went for the branched-off hall first, following it to another pair of doors that wouldn't open.

_They must be blocked… Figures. She though. That door was probably the only way out, other than the elevator. Zoé turned around to head back to the main hallway. She had almost made it when she heard a door slam, followed by voices. Moving as stealthily as she could, Zoé crept to the corner and flattened her back against the wall, listening intently._

"Who does that scrawny freak think she is, orderin' us around like that?"

Zoé inched along the wall to get closer to the corner and looked around it. There were three men gathered at the top of the stairs. Two of them were bare-chested, with the tops of their Blackgate jumpsuits cut off. The other was wearing a red straightjacket that had been completely loosened, with a sort of muzzle covering his face. All three were bald and had their faces painted like a clown.

"'Ey, don't talk so loud. She might hear you." One of the shirtless men said. He had a red clown nose, giving him a comical look, and if Zoé weren't so scared that they were going to find her, she might have laughed.

"Like I care! Someone needs to put her in her place." The other one replied. The muzzled one made a sound like a growl that may have been one of agreement. He gazed around the room, and his eyes locked with Zoé's. She gasped and tried to duck back behind the wall, but he had already seen her.

"What are you starin' at?" The nose-man asked, turning around. His eyes searched the hall before he finally found Zoé. "Well, whaddya know. One of the doctors managed to hide all this time."

The muzzled-man started walking towards Zoé, pulling a knife out of his pocket. The other two followed close behind, their faces split into wicked grins.

Zoé scrambled to get away from them, tripping and falling onto her back in the attempt. The man with the nose grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to her feet. Zoé gasped at the sudden strain in her shoulder as the man yanked on her arm and struggled to pull away, but it only made the man tighten his grip and dig his nails in.

The muzzled-man raised the knife and pressed it against Zoé's cheek. The cool steel cut into her skin, and a warm trail of blood trickled down the side of her face. He started to apply more pressure, but the intercom overhead screeched a familiar voice coming over it. The three men froze to look up at it. They had an odd look on their faces that told Zoé that what was being said was important, but she wasn't listening. All she saw was her chance to escape.

While the three men were distracted, Zoé swatted away the knife and slammed her knee into the stomach of the man holding her arm, putting as much force behind it as she could. The man grunted and doubled over, releasing her to clutch at his stomach. As soon as she was free, she took off running in the direction she had come. The man without the nose grabbed for her, but only succeeded in ripping the hair-tie from her hair.

After barreling through the double doors, Zoé collided with what felt like a brick wall and stumbled backward clumsily. She gazed up at the man in front of her, her eyes widening in awe. Batman himself stood in front of her, every bit as menacing as people said. It looked as if he had been in a constant fight since arriving on the island - His cape was torn, and there were also several tears in his chest plate.

"It's the Bat!" One of the men yelled from the hallway behind her. Batman grabbed Zoé's shoulders and moved her behind him as the men came thundering around the corner. The muzzled-man now had two knives, and was holding one over his head and the other out in front of him. All three of them ran at Batman, who stood calmly in front of them.

He grabbed the wrist of one of the nose-man and swept his legs out from underneath him. The man hit the floor with a solid thud and started to get back up. Batman ignored him and went for the next inmate, who was already coming at him, a clenched fist raised.

He ducked under the man's swing and elbowed him in the gut, sending him stumbling backwards. The first man was creeping up behind Batman, and the caped man grabbed his wrist once more as he swung at him and flipped him over his shoulder. This time, he didn't get up. The other man stood up and fled. Which left the muzzled man.

The man lunged forward with one of the blades, and in a split second, Batman had disarmed him and slammed a boot in his face so hard that Zoé could hear bones cracking. The man fell and didn't stir. Batman began dragging the two men one by one to the wall and propping them against it, tying their wrists and ankles together.

"Thank you for helping me." Zoé said, putting her hands in the pockets of her lab coat so that the caped man would not see that they were trembling. Batman glanced up at her as he tied the last man's ankles.

"What are you doing down here?" He asked.

"I was taken hostage by Crane." Zoé replied, her voice cracking when she said Crane's name. She took a step forward. "Are there any guards alive? There were so many dead when I went through the lobby earlier."

"I found two upstairs in the surgery room. One of them asked about a doctor that may have been missing. A kid named Zane. Is he a friend of yours?"

Zoé's face lit up, and she nodded. Batman straightened and turned to look at her

"The lobby is clear. It's safe to go up." He said.

"Thank you." Zoé said again, but Batman was already walking through the double doors. They swung shut behind him, leaving Zoé by herself once again.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Sorry my action-writing kinda sucks. And, I feel like I repeated several things. Like, the world "Stumbled". Oh well. Chapter six MIGHT be up soon. I dunno. It depends on how busy the rest of the week and my weekend are. I'm going to go see the new Resident Evil movie, in 3D, on Saturday. So excited! Can't wait. Is anyone else going to go see it? You are amazing if you are. ^-^**


	6. One Thing After Another

**Here it is; Chapter 6! This one was really fun to write. ^-^ And, it didn't take as long as my last one did... Also, I've shortened the title. I got tired of typing/saying the whole thing over and over again. Just in case you didn't notice~ Again, you can skip this part, unless I mentioned you.**

**Shadowsteed: Glad you liked it! Sorry it was so short. I tried to make this one longer, but I was using a different notebook, and the pages are shorter, so... Yea.**

**Invisible-Ayla: Well, I'm glad you like it. I hope you keep reading! ^-^**

**Lil Bits: Thanks! I will try and proof-read more. I just get a little impatient when I'm typing up the chapters, and I don't pay much attention to spelling.**

**XxCupcake AssassinxX: Do you really think it was good? I think it was kinda lame... But, oh well. Thanks anyway, haha. :D I uploaded it as fast as I could.**

* * *

Zoé rushed back to the elevator, moving as fast as her short legs could carry her. She had to slow down as she crawled through the vents, the tight space allowing only so much movement.

The lights had stopped flickering, and things didn't feel quite as ominous as they had before. It was a welcome change. Zoé squirmed out of the vent and into the maintenance tunnel, standing up and stretching her cramped muscles, then continuing on her way.

When she reached the ledges she had jumped down from earlier, Zoé stopped, staring up at it with her hands on her hips. The ledge was a good four feet taller than she was, and even standing on the tips of her toes, she couldn't reach it. She was going to have to climb. Luckily, there were plenty of footholds that seemed to be sturdy.

Zoé wrapped her hand around a pipe on the wall to her left, hoisting herself up and carefully placing her foot into a crack below it. She stretched her free hand up, but the edge was still just out of reach.

There was another pipe about half a foot above the one she was currently holding on to, and Zoé grabbed it, pulling herself up higher and quickly finding another foothold. From there, she was finally able to reach the edge, and she slowly pulled herself up.

With a sigh, Zoé stood up and dusted off her coat. She'd wasted too much time trying to scale the wall, and she was going to have to move even faster than before if she wanted to get back to the lobby - and away from the morgue - as soon as possible.

When she got back to the elevator, she was glad to see that it was still working. She had been a little worried that she was going to find it shut down or the doors locked. Zoé pressed the button to call it, letting out a sigh of relief as the doors opened immediately. She rushed inside and pressed the button to go up, tapping her foot impatiently as the doors slowly slid shut and the machine shuddered to life.

Zoé looked over her shoulder at the screen on the wall where Joker had spoken to Jonathan before. The screen had been shattered, presumably by Batman. At least that was one less thing she had to worry about.

The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened, seemingly in slow motion. When they stopped, Zoé exited the elevator cautiously. She knew that Batman wouldn't lie about there not being any inmates on that floor, but it was possible that he had missed one. Zoé wasn't taking any chances.

She looked around as she stepped out of the confined space. The doctors that had been by the elevator the last time she had come through were now free, standing in the middle of the room. Another doctor - Doctor Young, if Zoé remembered correctly - was standing off to the side, talking to a security guard named Aaron Cash. In a chair that had been dragged from one of the mini offices sat Zane, his head hanging low, cradling his gun in his lap. Zoé frowned deeply. He looked awful.

His messy red hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and his cheek was caked in dried blood from a long cut under his eye. His skin was paler than usual, the freckles looked like fire ants marching across his face. The worst were his eyes. They were usually the color of moss, bright and full of mischief. Now, there was something missing. Zoé couldn't tell what it was, but something in him had definitely changed.

Zane looked up as his he could feel eyes on him and spotted Zoé almost immediately. He set his gun down on the floor next to him and stood up, crossing the room and pulling Zoé into a tight hug.

"Thank God you're okay." He muttered. "I looked for you, and when I couldn't find you, I thought…" Zane trailed off and tightened his arms around Zoé. She closed her eyes and rested her head against Zane's chest, breathing in the familiar scent of Old Spice and wood smoke. All the tension from before started to fade, and standing like that, Zoé felt safe for the first time that day. It was like they were little again, hanging out in Zoé's room while her parents were out doing who-knew-what to the city.

Zane pulled away and looked down at Zoé, reaching up to touch the cut on her cheek gingerly. "What happened to you?"

Zoé quickly wiped at the blood with the sleeve of her coat, leaving a smear of red on the white fabric. "Nothing. I just got lost, ran into a couple of inmates. One of them cut me." She forced herself to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. "I had a little help getting away."

She had intended for her response to put her friend at ease, but a troubled look had crossed his face.

"Why didn't you just shoot them like I told you to?"

"I lost the gun you gave me. One of the inmates I ran into took it, and I couldn't get it back."

She nhated lying to Zane, but she didn't want him to know what had actually happened. He would worry about it, and it seemed like he had enough to deal with as it was.

"That was my favorite gun." Was all Zane said, giving her a lopsided smile.

"O'neil!"

Zane's smile quickly faded and he turned to face the man who had addressed him. Aaron and Doctor Young had come up behind him. The doctor had an anxious look on her face, like she was waiting for something. "Sir?"

"I'm going to take Doctor Young to the mansion so that she can collect her notes. I want you to take the rest of the doctors somewhere safe and keep them out of danger." Aaron had his gun resting on his shoulder and was holding onto it with his good hand. Zane opened his mouth to respond, but Zoé spoke up first.

"Let me go with you." She said. Before anyone could protest, she added, "I'm tired of sitting around doing nothing. If you give me a gun, I can help. Besides, it will be safer with an extra person. And I'm a pretty good shot."

"Are you sure? It might be dangerous." Aaron said. Zoé nodded.

"I'm-"

"You're not seriously considering letting her go, are you, Sir?" Zane asked, interrupting Zoé. He looked back and forth between Aaron and Zoé, unaware that Zoé had been in the middle of a sentence when he had spoken.

"If she really wants to go, I'm not going to stop her." Aaron replied, setting his gun down. He pulled a pistol from it's holster at his side and handed it to Zoé. From it's weight, she could tell it was loaded. The small weapon was identical to the one Zane had given her, and she held on to it tightly. She wasn't going to lose this one.

"With all due respect, Sir, I don't think it's a good idea." Zane said. "She could get hurt, or… Or worse."

"Stop being such a pessimist. You'll give yourself an ulcer." Zoé said, patting her friend's cheek affectionately. "I will be fine. You just worry about keeping these other doctors safe."

"Batman said that this level is clear. If you take them to one of the main offices, they should be fine there." Aaron put his good hand on Zane's shoulder. "If you want, when the doctors are safe, you can join us at the mansion."

Zane nodded, and Aaron took his hand away to pick up his gun. He looked at the three people in front of him, then turned away and headed for the stairs, Doctor Young following closely at his heels. Zoé started to go after them, but stopped when Zane called her name. She turned to look at him.

"Yeah?"

Zane stared at her silently for a moment, a hint of sadness on his face. "Be careful, okay?"

"Okay." Zoé replied. She started to move, then paused again. "You'd better catch up with us."

"I will."

Zoé nodded, then turned to catch up with Aaron and Doctor Young.

xxx

"There's the mansion." Aaron announced, stopping in front of the steps that led up to the mansion door. He trotted up the steps and held the door open for Zoé and Doctor Young. Zoé went first, eager to no longer be out in the open. The entire walk there, she had felt like they were being watched, followed. Her sense of paranoia had grown as they neared the large building.

Zoé slowed down and let the other two take the lead once they got inside, looking over her shoulder at the shut door. She had been looking behind her constantly since they left the Medical Facility, trying to find whoever - Or whatever - it was that had been following them, but she never saw anyone.

"Are you alright?" Doctor Young asked. Zoé looked at the door a moment longer, then nodded and looked away.

"I'm fine. Just… Worried about Zane." She lied.

"He'll be fine. The kid is tough." Aaron said, not stopping. "Now, come on. We don't have time to stand around. Batman needs those notes."

Zoé nodded and started walking again, keeping up the rear. The door to the main hall was open, and Zoé shut it behind them. It made her feel a little safer, putting something between herself and whoever it was that was following them.

She looked around the huge room admiringly. It was only her second time in the mansion, her first being when Zane had taken her to meet the Warden.

_Zane…_

Now Zoé really was starting to worry about him. Had he managed to get the doctors somewhere safe? Had he been captured by inmates? Was he somewhere in the bottom levels of the Medical Facility? Images of Zane laying dead somewhere rose unwillingly in Zoé's mind, and she quickly pushed them away. She didn't need to distract herself by thinking of things that were most likely not true.

When Zoé turned her attention back to her surroundings, she frowned. She had stopped without realizing it, and Aaron and Doctor Young were nowhere to be seen. The must have gone on without her. "Mr. Cash?" Zoé called, her voice echoing off of the walls. "Doctor Yo- Mmph!" Zoé's sentence was cut off when a large, meaty hand clamped over her mouth and a cloth bag was pulled over her eyes.

"You're a hard lady to find, Doctor Young." A gruff voice said. "Come on, let's get her to the boss." Someone grabbed her arms roughly and started to push her forward. Zoé stumbled along blindly, slowly inching her hand towards her pocket where she had put the gun. The man holding her arms was either too stupid or too distracted to notice. She gripped the handle tightly, waiting for her chance to break free.

The chance never came.

There was the sound of a door slamming, and the man pushed down on Zoé's shoulders, forcing her to her knees.

"We've got her, Boss, just like you asked." He said.

"Well? Take that sack off! Show some hospitality to our guest!"

Zoé's blood ran cold. She knew that voice. It was the same voice that she had heard on the elevator.

The sack was suddenly yanked off of her head, and Zoé squinted at the bright light. Standing in front of her on two crates that had been stacked together, was that Joker. He peered at Zoé, leaning down to get a better look at her.

"That's no Doctor Young, you fools." He said, standing straight again.

"It's not?" The man with the gruff voice asked. Zoé turned her head to look at him. He was shirtless like most of the other inmates, bald, with his face painted like a clown's. He was massive, roughly the size of three average men. Next to him was another inmate, dwarfed in comparison. He stood with his arms crossed, a rifle strung across his back.

"No. It's not. She doesn't even look like Doctor Young." Joker sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Note to self; when I want someone kidnapped, send smarted thugs."

Zoé flicked her gaze around the room, taking in as many details as she could. They had taken her to the Warden's office, and were currently standing in the first section of the room, which was mostly book shelves. The rest of the office was behind Joker. Someone was standing in the room beyond, and Zoé leaned slightly to the side to see past Joker. Her eyes widened.

Victor Zsasz was standing in front of a large portrait of the Warden, a long knife clutched in his right hand. He seemed agitated about something.

"Take her to our good friend Mr. Zsasz anyway. We need to keep him occupied so that he doesn't turn on one of us while we wait for Doctor Young." Joker said, motioning behind him. The inmate with the gun nodded and grabbed one of Zoé's arms, pulling her to her feet. As the passed Joker, he held up his hand to halt them. Zoé held her breath as he hopped down from the crates and walked in front of her, examining her face.

"Say, aren't you the girl that was with the good doctor?" He asked. He didn't wait for Zoé to respond. "I never forget a face, especially one with a scar like that. Is Johnny-boy aware that his new pet has escaped?"

"I am nobody's pet." Zoé snapped. Joker raised an eyebrow, then laughed maniacally.

"You're feisty!?" He said. "It's a shame I have to give you to Zsasz. I wouldn't mind having you all to myself."

Zoé glared and the Joker, who simply smiled and moved out of the way. She tightened her hand around the gun, waited a few seconds, then whipped it out and spun on her heel, firing blindly. The bullet tore through the shoulder of the inmate with the gun. He cried out and released her, pressing his hand against the wound. Everyone in the room stared at her, stunned, and Zoé saw that as a chance to escape.

"How's that for 'feisty'?" She asked as she ran past the Joker. He made a grab for her, but missed by a fraction of a centimeter. Zoé shoved the door open and slammed it behind her. Even through the think wood, she could hear Joker yelling.

"What are you waiting for, you great buffoon?! Catch her!"

Zoé desperately ran faster as the door behind her swung open and rapid footsteps came thundering after her. There was only one person - The large man, from the sounds of it - and he wasn't very fast. But he could probably run a lot farther than Zoé could.

The doors to the main hall were shut, and Zoé had to stop the open them, slowing her down and making her lose the distance she had gained from the man. She did not bother to shut it and rushed to the stairs, taking them three at a time and nearly slipping in the process. The opposite side of the room seemed impossible far away, and it felt like it got even father the more she ran. The door was wide open, even though Zoé specifically remembered shutting it.

As she ran past a short hallway that ended in yet another door, a needle-tipped hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her around the corner and against the wall. Zoé looked to see who it was; Jonathan. He wasn't wearing his mask, and a dark bruise stood out against his cheek. He pressed a finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet.

Zoé nodded and pressed her back flatter against the wall as the footsteps got closer. They didn't even slow down as the man came into view. He ran right past the hallway without pausing to look, going straight out the door. Once he was gone, Zoé looked back at Jonathan.

Never in her life had she been so happy to see a criminal.

* * *

**I'm thinking about writing a sequel to this. Like, I've already got the plot and everything planned out. I'm one chapter closer! Can't wait to get started on it. Can you tell me how I did with Joker? I was a little iffy about some of the things I had him say. I'm not really sure if I stayed in character...**

**So, a quick apology to Shadowsteed: I know I promised you that Zsasz would show up, and then it was only briefly... Sorry about that. On the bright side, Jonathan is finally back in the story!**

**Hoped you like it! Chapter 7 should be up soon. In about a week, maybe? I dunno. **


	7. Living Nightmare

**Happy Halloween!**

**Just gonna reply to a few reviews:**

**Shadowsteed- Thanks! Glad you are sticking with the story and are enjoying it so far. Hope this chapter is a good as the past few (If they were really all that good)! Sure took me a while to write.**

**TheLampKnowsAll- Thanks a lot. I was a little worried that I didn't stay in character very well, but I'm glad that I was worried for nothing. Hope you keep reading!**

* * *

Jonathan

"I told you to stay where you were." Jonathan said as Zoé sank to the ground, breathing hard. He leaned against one of the display cases and started tapping his needles on the glass.

"I don't take orders when I'm being held captive." Zoé replied between breaths.

"If you had listened to me, then you would still be safe, and you wouldn't have all of Joker's thugs after you." Jonathan pointed out. Zoé looked up at him.

"And why would you want me safe? So that you can use me for your experiments?" She asked. She didn't sound angry. Just curious. Jonathan looked at her in mild surprise.

To be honest, that was how it had been at first. He had started watching her after their first appointment. Other inmates had told him that she was fearless, and he had wanted to see just how far that courage would stretch before her mind snapped.

After his encounter with Batman, he had followed Zoé to the mansion. He knew that Batman would be there as well, so it would be killing two birds with one stone. All that time, he saw her as nothing more than a potential test subject. But when he began to feel drawn to her. And when he felt that spark of anger when Zoé was in trouble, he began to wonder if it had turned into something else.

Zoé watched him patiently, then smiled suddenly and stood up to hug him. "That's okay." She said. Jonathan thought he heard sadness in her voice. "Thanks for helping anyway."

Jonathan stiffened, to stunned to react. He could feel his face starting to heat up, and he slowly raised his arms to hesitantly hug her back. _I guess that answers that question_, he thought. It had definitely turned into something else. Now he just had to figure out exactly what it was he was feeling about the doctor.

When Zoé pulled away, Jonathan felt a sense of disappointment that he couldn't explain.

"What do we do now?" Zoé asked. Before Jonathan could answer, the handle on the door behind him began to jiggle. The door swung open, and Jonathan whirled to face it.

Batman was stumbling through the doorway, but Jonathan wasn't looking at him. The hallway beyond was hazy. Just moments before he found Zoé, Jonathan had placed a few canisters of his gas into the hallway outside of the library so that when Batman came out and rounded that corner, her would be under Scarecrow's influence. Now that gas was leaking out of the open door and into the main hall.

Jonathan cursed and grabbed his mask, pulling it over his head and yanking his hood up over it. "Zoé! Cover your face!"

Zoé looked at him in confusion, then realization dawned on her face. She pulled her sleeve over her hand and started to reach up to cover her mouth and nose, but she was moving too slow. At this rate, the gas would reach them and she would breath it in. Her hand froze halfway to her mouth and she stared past Jonathan, a look of sheer terror crossing her features. Jonathan had never seen someone so scared.

Jonathan looked in the direction Batman had gone, and then back at Zoé. He needed to go after the Bat and study the effects of his toxin, but he wasn't sure if leaving the young doctor on her own would be a good idea.

If he really thought about it, though, the choice was simple. Not going after Batman could mean that he would miss his chance to figure out how he had broken out of his Toxin's grip. No one else was around, so at least Zoé couldn't get physically hurt as she battled her fears. But he couldn't say the same for her mind,

Without another moment's hesitation, Jonathan turned and ran after Batman,

xxx

Zoé

Zoé never noticed that Jonathan was gone; her attention was completely focused on the hallway in front of her. Or rather, what was in the hallway. Her muscles were frozen, as if an invisible force were holding her captive, rendering her unable to move.

A massive spider crouched just beyond the doorway, watching her with eight large, beady eyes. It's legs were so long that they disappeared past the wooden frames on the door. Zoé was so close to it that she could see each individual hair on it's body.

The spider started to come towards her, it's head shoving through the door, but everything else behind it's head was too large. It strained against the wood, stretching it's head as far as it could to get to Zoé. She may have found it comical it she hadn't been so terrified. The spider's fangs were less than a foot away fro her, and she felt immensely relieved that it couldn't reach her.

Then the wood of the door frame began to splinter and crack. The spider was finally able to fit the rest of it's body through the door, and immediately lunged at Zoé, it's two front legs stretched out in front of it. The sudden movement shocked her into action.

Zoé shrieked and took several steps back, knocking over one of the display cases and shattering the glass. Her pants leg snagged on one of the frames of the case and she tripped, falling onto her back,

The spider continued to advance, slower this time, it's movements careful and calculated. Zoé scrambled backwards until her back was pressed against the wall. She shrank back, trying to make herself as small as possible. As the spider continued to get closer, Zoé could do nothing but stare. It's face was only inches away, it's fangs dripping with venom. The spots where the venom hit the floor began to sizzle and burn, like someone had poured acid onto it.

Zoé turned her head to the side in an attempt to keep her skin away from the spider. She drew her knees up to her chest to act as a barrier and squeezed her eyes shut. _It isn't real. _She told herself. _It isn't real._

The heat radiating from the spider's venom was almost unbearable. Zoé kept her eyes shut, continuing to try and convince herself that it wasn't really there.

_Itisn'trealitisn'trealitisn'trealitisn'treal._

After several seconds of nothing happening, Zoé slowly opened her eyes. The spider was gone, and so were the holes in the floor where the venom had burned through. Even the ruined door was back to normal.

Zoé placed her hand onto the floor to push herself up, and sliced her hand on a shard of glass that she hadn't noticed was there. She yanked her hand up and cursed under her breath, pulling her sleeve down over her hand and using it to mop up the blood that had began to flow from the wound. Then she pressed the fabric against the cut itself. When she thought the blood had stopped, the tore a strip of fabric off of her jacket and tied it around her hand as tightly as she could stand, letting out a small gasp of pain. The entire time, she kept a wary eye on her surroundings in case the spider came back.

For the first time, Zoé realized that Jonathan was gone. She stood up shakily and looked around, clutching her injured hand to her chest. Where had he gone? Had he left her there? Had all of that been planned?

Moving as quietly as she could, Zoé moved out to the center of the room, trying to see if Jonathan was still there. She turned in a full circle, stopping with her back to the statue. If Jonathan was there, she hadn't seen him. Zoé was, once again, on her own.

She lowered her hands, wincing when she accidentally flexed the injured one. It was throbbing painfully now, and she tried to ignore it. The spider still hadn't shown up, and so far, everything seemed normal.

_Was that really a hallucination? _She wondered. It had seemed so real. But looking back at it now, Zoé realized how ridiculous it had been. Spiders don't get that big. It isn't natural.

The silence in the room was deafening. It was eerie how there wasn't a single person there. When Zane had brought Zoé here on her first day, the place had been bustling with activity.

The floor squeaked behind her, and Zoé went stiff. She clenched her right hand into a tight first, ready to swing at whoever was sneaking up behind her. When she was able to hear their , she spun around with her fist raised, freezing before she could attack them. Jonathan stood in front of her, his arms crossed. He looked pissed about something.

"Do you always attack people before you know who they are?" He asked. Zoé crossed her arms, mimicking him.

"Do you always abandon people after drugging them?" She replied. Jonathan raked his hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it already was.

"You seem fine now." He said, a look of mild interest crossing his face. "What I don't understand is how. I released a concentrated amount of gas into that hallway, specifically for Batman. Your mind should have been broken. But it looks as if you were able to completely rid yourself of the toxin in your system."

Zoé frowned, lowering her arms. "Was it not supposed to wear off?" She asked.

"Not without leaving behind some permanent damage." Jonathan said with a shake of his head. "Yet, you seem perfectly sane."

"You talk as if you planned for that to happen. Like it was an experiment."

"No. You weren't supposed to come into contact with the toxin."

Zoé fell silent for a moment, looking down at the floor thoughtfully. There was no way that had been a coincidence. It was to convenient. But since her only options were to either stay with him and be as safe as one could be with a criminal or go on her own on an island swarming with insane inmates, she had no choice but to believe him.

xxx

Jonathan

Jonathan knew that Zoé didn't believe him, and it didn't bother him. It didn't change the fact that he was telling the truth. Jonathan didn't lie.

He was glad that she hadn't asked him where he had gone. To be honest, he was to disappointed with the outcome of his encounter with Batman to talk about it. Just thinking about it sent a spark of rage through him.

It had started out fine. When Jonathan got to the center of the room, the best possible spot for observation, Batman had been going around the room in a systematic circle. As he fought through his fears, Jonathan couldn't help but taunt him, pointing out just how powerless the Dark Knight really was. Pointing out that it was Jonathan who was in control.

A group of Joker's men burst into the room, and Batman fought them off easily. Jonathan yearned to know what it was batman saw when he looked at the men. Once the thugs were down, Batman resumed his circling. He would occasionally stop and crouch behind things, out of Jonathan's sight, but he wouldn't stay there long before he was up and running again.

His behavior was strange, nothing like anything Jonathan had seen in past experiments. The man didn't seem scared. Maybe a little agitated, but not scared. The only reason Jonathan could tell that he had been drugged at all was because of the way he kept crouching down behind things, as if he were hiding from something.

The Bat suddenly stopped and pulled out his grappling hook, aiming it up towards the bell tower and shooting the wire, flying up and out of Jonathan's sight. He had seemed normal, almost as if he were no longer hallucinating, which meant Jonathan had not learned anything. That was when he had decided to go back to Zoé.

Now, as they stood across from each other, Jonathan began wondering what was so special about this girl. Something had been drawing him to her as the night dragged on, and even when he wasn't with her, his thoughts constantly returned to her, again and again. Maybe that was why he had been unable to learn anything when he was watching Batman. Why he had found it so difficult to focus.

Zoé finally looked back up at him, her face deliberately expressionless. "I believe you." She said slowly, sounding as if she were trying to convince herself more than she was him.

Jonathan nodded, even though he knew she didn't mean it. He also knew why she didn't actually believe him - He was a criminal. She wasn't bout to believe the word of a criminal.

"I need to go to the Intensive Treatment building. There is something there that I have to do." He said. He had discovered something there when he first came to the asylum. It was a tunnel in one of the elevator shafts that led to an opening, almost like a cave. He had been using it as his base of operations. If he could get there, he could stock up on toxin for his final confrontation with the Bat.

"Lead the way." Zoé replied.

* * *

**I tried something new with this chapter, with the whole switching-between-point-of-views thing. I'm not sure how it worked out, but I need some practice with it since I'll be doing that a lot with the sequel (Which, by the way, I'm so excited to start writing!). Anyway, hope you liked it, and sorry it took so long!**


	8. Intensive Treatment

**Omigosh! I am so sorry for the huge wait! Even though I put on my profile that I was going to wait until I got my laptop to update, I still feel bad... Oh well. Chapter 8 is here! Since my laptop doesn't have the side keypad, I can't type the accent mark in Zoe's name. So... It looks kinda lame. xD**

**ThatOneGirlxx: Thanks! I figured you would like it. Sorry for the errors; I don't have spell check, and I have a habit of not proofreading...**

**Morgan: Glad you liked it! The sequel to this is going to have two different pairings, and one of them is going to be a RobinxOC pairing. And, I know, I was torn between making a love triangle between Zane, Zoe, and Jonathan, but I decided against it. Hope you like this chapter!**

**Phantoms Lil Waffle: Your review made me laugh xD The fights were actually pretty hard to describe, because I'm not a very good action writer, but I'm glad it turned out okay. I hate spiders so much...**

**Shadowsteed: Thanks so much! I'm really beginning to look forward to your reviews. You're the only one that does it regularly. xD Hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

Zoe followed Jonathan out of the mansion, bracing herself against the cold air. She shivered and hugged her elbows, trying to retain as much heat as she could. Her thin lab coat wasn't doing her any good.

There were several unconscious inmates scattered on the ground, and one hung by his feet from the balcony above the mansion door. No doubt Batman's doing. Zoe walked down the steps slowly, carefully maneuvering around the dangling man. She felt like she was too much out in the open. Like there were a bright, neon sign pointing at her for all inmates to see.

Jonathan was waiting for Zoe at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at her with a look of impatience. Zoe sped up, going down the stairs as fast as she could without tripping, and came to a stop beside him. She muttered an apology, which he pretended not to hear as he started walking again.

The man was walking so quickly that one of his strides equaled two of Zoe's. Why was he in such a hurry? Zoe was having trouble keeping up with him.

As they got further away from the mansion, Zoe began to realize that some of the bodies weren't inmates. They were guards. Zoe had just assumed that they were all inmates because the darkness had made it so difficult to see. She drew nearer to one and froze, her breath catching in her throat.

She would know that mess of red hair anywhere.

"Oh no..." Zoe gasped, falling to her knees beside the body. "Zane."

Jonathan stopped when he realized that Zoe was no longer behind him and turned to face her. His gaze shifted between her and Zane, his mouth opening as if he wanted to say something but seeming to think better of it. He cleared his throat and moved a few feet away.

Zoe took a deep breath and turned Zane over onto his back. She gasped and fell backwards, unable to tear her eyes away. Zane's skin was ashen, and his face was frozen into a wide, erie smile. Something on the ground caught Zoe's eye, and when she got closer, she paled.

Someone had taken bright green spraypaint and written the words "Ha! Ha!" beside Zane's didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who. The Joker had killed Zane.

Zoe shrugged off her tatter labcoat and took her wallet and gun out of the pockets before draping the coat over Zane, covering his face. She sat beside him for a moment longer, wishing she could have done something to prevent this from happening.

Jonathan cleared his throat again, and Zoe glanced up at him. He had the same look of impatience that he had before, only this time it was mixed with a look of sympathy that he was obviously trying to hide. Zoe shoved her wallet into her pants pocket and gripped the gun tightly, looking back at Zane one last time before rejoining Jonathan.

She was no longer going to feel guilty about shooting an inmate. At first, she had been reluctant to, because they were still human. But now it was clear that all of the Blackgate prisoners had lost their humanity a long time ago. Now, it was kill or be killed.

Jonathan waited until Zoe was beside him before starting to walk again. With every step, a gnawing sense of foreboding grew in the pit of Zoe's stomach. As the night had pregressed, she had learned to trust her gut. Now she was beginning to worry about what was going to happen.

An owl hooted somewhere above them, causing Zoe to start. Jonathan glanced sideways at her.

'"Jumpy?" He asked. Zoe sighed.

"Can you blame you blame me?" She replied.

"No. I guess I can't."

They fell silent again. Jonathan stood off to the side when they got to the gate, allowing Zoe to go through first. She took a cautious step through the gate, kepping a wary eye out for inmates. The gate slid shut with a metallic clang, and Jonathan took the lead again. After going through the second gate, they were finally at the Intensive Treatment building.

There were men posted at each of the guard towers, and one on the balcony. All three of them were armed with sniper rifles. Even from this distance, Zoe could see that they were Blackgate prisoners.

'"Why would Joker have guards here?" She asked.

"He's anticipating where he thinks the Batman will be going." Jonathan said, crouching down by a rock wall to the left of the gate, observing the three men.

"Will they give us any trouble?"

"They won't bother me. You, I'm not so sure about." He'looked over at her, frowning thoughtfully. "Maybe if they thought that you were a patient..."

Jonathan stood up suddenly and motioned for her to wait there, disappearing through the gate. He came back several minutes later holding one of the Arkham Asylum jumpsuits.

"Put this on."

Zoe looked at the jumpsuit and raised an eyebrow. "This is your brilliant idea?" She asked. "For me to pretend like I am an Arkham patient and hope that the other inmates are brainless enough to believe it? I don't think that will work."

"It will if you cooperate." Jonathan said. "You have been here long enough to know the basic mannerisms of the patients, but not long enough that many of them know your face. And your scar will help with the image as well."

The jumpsuit was made from rough cotton, and as Zoe took it from Jonathan, she stared at it with contempt. She could tell before she put it on that it was way to big.

"We don't have all night." Jonathan said, crossing his arms. Zoe shot him a glare, then pulled the jumpsuit on over her clothes. The sleeves hung down way past her fingertips, so she pulled her arms out and tied the sleeves around her waist instead, bunching the fabric up around her hips. The legs were a little too long, and the suit reeked. It smelled like someone had been sweating in it for years without it being washed even once. Which was probably the case.

"Is this really believable?" Zoe asked, looking at Jonathan with doubt. He had been watvhing silently, that thoughtful look back on his face. She forced herself to ignore how the expression made his face seem sharper, and more handsom.

"It should work. Your tanktop is plain enough, and with the sleeves tied around your waist like that, no one will see the prisoner name and realize that you are not one of them. It does seem to be a bit too big in the legs, but a lot of smaller prisoners have that problem." Jonathan said. "I think this will work."

He walked away from the wall, motioning for Zoe to follow. The guards shouted a greeting at them, but nothing more. Zoe walked as calmly as she could, holding her head high as if she belonged there. When they safely reached the front door of the building, Zoe let out a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding.

The maximum security gates were all off, making it easy for them to get to the lobby. So far, the building was empty, but Zoe knew that guards would not stand outside an empty building unless they were trying to keep something out. Or keep something in.

Zoe had, of course, heard about what was being kept in the sewers below the building. An inmate by the name of Waylon Jones, more commonly known as Killer Croc, was supposed to have had an appointment with him that coming Monday, but now she douted that it was going to happen. There was no way that Arkham Asylum was going to be able to bounce back from this.

The door to the lobby was locked, and it took both Zoe and Jonathan to pry it open. It swung shut behind them with a click, relocking itself.

In front of them was one of the upright gournies used to move the more troubled patients. A man had been chained to it, with a white board slipped under the chains that said "DEAD END". The man's mouth was gaping open, and whoever killed him had painted his lips green. Several hours ago, Zoe would have been horrified by the sight. But she had seen so much that night that all she felt was sympathy for the man's family, if he had any.

The lift down to the lowest level of the lobby wasn't working, so they had to climb down the ladders on either side. Jonathan went first, assisting Zoe as she climbed down after him. Her foot slipped on one of the rungs and she fell from the ladder, right into Jonathan's arms. He let out a startled "Oof" and buckled a little under the sudden weight, but was otherwise unfazed. Despite his scrawny form, Jonathan was surprisingly strong. Zoe's face burned, and she looked away from him as he set her on her feet.

"Are you alright?" Jonathan asked. Zoe nodded.

"Thanks." She said. Jonathan gave her a crooked smile, then started walking again.

They still hadn't seen anyone, and it was making Zoe nervous. Had Wayland gotten out of the sewers and eaten everyone? If he had, wouldn't there be blood everywhere?

"Batman gas already cleared the place out." Jonathan said, as if he could sense Zoe's unease. "Joker began his plan here, when he broke away from the guards. Batman had to take out all of the inmates in order to go after him."

Zoe let out a sigh of relief. At least they didn't have to worry about being eaten. "Why are we here again?"

"I need to get something. The next time I see Batman, I _will_ find out how he has been defeating my toxin."

Zoe frowned. He hadn't actually told her anything. She started to ask more questions, but shut her mouth quickly. Making him mad or irritated wouldn't get her anywhere.

They walked through the short tunnel that usually scanned people for weapons. Zoe expected it to detect her gun and start going off, but nothing happened. Whoever turned off the security gates must have turned off the weapons detector as well.

"Where are we going?" She asked, hurrying to match Jonathan's pace.

"The elevators." Was all he said, keeping his eyes locked ahead of him. Zoe huffed and crossed her arms. Was he really going to drag her all the way here and not tell her anything? She had a lot that she wanted to say, but she kept her mouth shut.

They reached the long hallway that led to the elevators, and Jonathan started walking faster. He seemed anxious. Whatever he was going to do must have been important.

Zoe gazed up at him with concern. He seemed to be one of those people with tunnel vision, who don't care about anything else until they complete they're done with whatever they've set their minds on. That wasn't a very good mindset to have, especially for someone like Jonathan, who was capabke of doing very dangerous things.

The two finally reached the doors to the elevators, and Jonathan once again stepped to the side to allow Zoe to go first. One of the elevators had crashed at some point, which left them with only one elevator.

"Good thing it's the one I need." Jonathan said, walking up to the elevator and opening the gate. Zoe started to follow him in, but Jonathan shook his head, shutting the gate before she could. "I need you up here, to make sure no one comes."

"Oh, right. Yeah." Zoe nodded and stepped back, away from the elevator.

"If you can't make someone leave, shoot them." Jonathan said, backing away from the gate and pressing the button to go down. Zoe nodded again as the elevator began to descend, clutching her gun tightly. She wasn't going to let herself get scared. She wasn't going to let Jonathan down.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Be sure to review and tell me what you think/point out any errors. Oh! Before I forget. I want to start writing some more FanFictions, but I have no idea what to write. I'm open for suggestions. If there is a certain book/movie/video game/anime/manga that you want a story written about, put the title in a review, and if I've read/watched/played it, I'll give it a shot.**

**Yes, I know the grammar in that sentence was awful. I died a little with each messed up word. xD**


	9. Round Three

**I know what you're thinking. "Whaaat? Two chapters within a little over a week?!" Yep, I know. It's crazy. You can thank my new laptop! I haven't stopped writing since I got it. I don't know how many chapters this story has left. Two? Maybe three? I dunno.**

**Phantoms Lil Waffle: Haha, I'm sorry! I knew it would upset some people, but I had it planned since the beginning. I'm glad you liked the chapter, even though Zane died.**

**Shadowsteed: Thanks for pointing those out. I hadn't even noticed that I spelled Waylon wrong, and I could have sworn I put Killer Croc, and not just Killer. I fixed it, though! I like LoTR, too. If I can get the movies and rewatch them, maybe I will write a FanFic about it. I hadn't even conisdered it, acually. Thanks for the suggestion!**

**Morgan: Thanks. I thought of something to write about, but I don't think it's really catching on... Maybe people aren't as in to Final Fantasy as they used to be?**

* * *

Zoe

Zoe sat with her back against the wall between the two elevator shafts, her eyes locked onto the two doors in front of her. She had the gun laying in her lap, where it would be easy to grab if someone came through.

It seemed unlikely that anyone would bother going there. The Intensive Treatment unit didn't seem to be like the kind of place anyone would be eager to return to after getting away. Anything was possible, however, so Zoe kept her guard up.

Minutes passed uneventfully, and Zoe drummed on her fingers on the ground next to her to entertain herself. It was so quiet that the sound of her fingers on the metal floor echoed off the walls, and Zoe stopped for fear that she wouldn't be able to hear anyone coming.

It wasn't long before Zoe found herself nodding off, and she realized how tired she was. She hadn't gotten a chance to rest since the night began, and it was beginning to take it's toll on her. Her eyelids drooped, and the next thing she knew, she was dreaming.

xxx

Jonathan

Jonathan dropped out of the vent leading to his hideout and onto the top of the elevator, landing softly. He had made swift changes to his formula, just enough to make it a little stronger. He had also refilled his syringes, and filled a small cloth bag with a powdered form of the drug. If the toxin in the needles wasn't enough to drive Batman insane, then Jonathan had a plan that would work just as well. He pulled canisters filled with concentrated doses of his gas out of the vent behind him, and lowered them into the elevator below.

After slipping back into the elevator, Jonathan flipped the switch to turn it back on and pressed the button to go up. The elevator shuddered to life and began it's ascent, moving agonizingly slow. Jonathan tapped his foot impatiently, and when it finally stopped, he muttered under his breath about how the people who built the place could have put in a faster motor.

He tied the bag to the rope around his waist and started to open the gate, but stopped and tilted his head to the side with a slight frown. Voices could be heard through the large doors, coming from the lobby. Most likely more of Joker's men. It seemed as if all of them were in the lobby, which meant that they wouldn't bother him or Zoe. For now.

Jonathan opened the gate and stepped off of the elevator, looking around for Zoe. He saw her sitting against the wall with her head resting back, her eyes shut, and smiled slightly. She had fallen asleep while he was gone. He walked over to her and crouched down to nudge her arm.

"Zoe? Zoe, wake up."

"Zane..." Zoe muttered, her voice slurred by sleep. She turned her face away from him, but didn't wake up. Jonathan frowned, then steeled himself and shook her shoulder a little harder. She opened her eyes this time and stared up at him, her bright blue eyes filled with a look of brief confusion.

"What kind of guard falls asleep on the job?" Jonathan asked, straightening and holding out his hand to help her up. She ignored it and stood up on her own, holding her gun tightly in her hands.

"Sorry." Zoe said, rubbing her arm with her free hand. She looked up at him and forced a smile. "I'm just a little tired."

She slipped the gun through the knot where she had tied her sleeves, and clasped her hands behind her back. Jonathan sighed and shook his head. There was a burst of laughter from the lobby, and Zoe tensed. She must have fallen asleep before they got there. "Do they no we're here?"

"Not yet, no." Jonathan replied. He grabbed one of the canisters from the elevator and walked into the long hallway, going to the door on the far end and slipping the canister above it. After securing it to the wall with rope, he walked around to the other side and did the same. Just in case Batman went through one door instead of the other.

Zoe watching silently, hovering just beyond the door to the elevators. She looked like she wanted to say something. Jonathan glanced over his shoulder at her as he tied the canister to the wall. "What?"

"I was just wondering..." Zoe started, shuffling her feet awkwardly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Jonathan lowered his arms slowly and turned to face her. "You want to help me?" He asked suspiciously.

"I'm going crazy without something to do." Zoe complained. She walked into the room and up to the door where Jonathan was tying up the canister. Her arms were crossed, and she was rapidly tapping her fingers against her arm. Jonathan looked up at the canister, which he hadn't finished tying to the wall. If Zoe weren't so short, he could have let her finish for him, but as it was, she was too short to reach it. He sighed and reached up to finish tying the rope himself.

"There's nothing for you to do." He said, turning back to her. "Everything is set up."

Zoe sighed and leaned against the bars, resting her head back to stare up at the ceiling. With the light hitting her face at that angle, Jonathan could see the dark circles under her eyes, and how pale she looked. She must have been exhausted. He gazed at her thoughtfully for a moment, then shook his head, and made a noise like he had just remembered something. Zoe lowered her head to look at him hopefully.

"There is something you can do for me." He said. "I need you to go find my left-over canisters. I'll need some kind of back up plan in case this one doesn't work out. They should be down in the basement level." Zoe's face lit up, and she nodded. She started for the elevators, and Jonathan trailed after her, opening the gate to the working elevator for her.

"How will I know when I've found them?" Zoe asked, stepping into the elevator and turning back to face Jonathan.

"Trust me," Jonathan said, shutting the gate. "You'll know. Just find them, and bring them back up. They're empty, so you won't have to worry about the gas leaking out."

Jonathan watched as Zoe pushed the button to go down, giving him an enthusiastic smile. He forced one in return, waiting patiently for the elevator to start moving.

Once the top of the elevator had disappeared past the railing, Jonathan's smile faded, and he turned his back on the elevator shaft to go back into the hallway.

xxx

Zoe

Zoe stepped out of the elevator, looking around her curiously. The basement wasn't at all what she had expected. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Across from the elevators was a small room with large chunks of meat hanging from the ceiling. There was shattered glass all over the floor, and Zoe guessed that the wall seperating the main room from the meat room had been made from glass. More chunks of meat were scattered around the room. There was a door down a short hallway by the meat room. Zoe walked up to it, noticing the huge locks and WARNING stickers that had been stuck to it. A sign above the door read "Sewer".

The elevator dinged and started going back up without her. Zoe ran back to the elevator shaft and started pressing the button to call it back down, but it continued to move. She cursed under her breath and banged her fist against the wall. There were no canisters in sight, she was a sheet of metal away from the only criminal in Arkham that she was afraid of, and she was trapped down there.

All it took to have complete control over the elevators was to push the right buttons in the control room, which was on the floor above her. Jonathan must have made one of the men go down to the control room and send the elevator back up to the top floor and freeze it. But why would he have done that?

A million different theories ran through Zoe's mind at the same time, and she struggled to make sense of it all. She finally came to the conclusion that Jonathan had sent her down there to get her out of his way. It sort of made sense. But there was a small part of her that thought she'd been sent down there to be eaten by Croc.

Zoe sat down by the elevator with a sigh and wrinkled her nose. The meat was starting to smell. She groaned and stood up again, starting to pace. How long was Jonathan going to keep her down there?

xxx

Jonathan

It was almost time. One of the men in the lobby had just yelled a warning to everyone else, saying that Batman was there. Jonathan couldn't help but feel excited. In just a few minutes, he would finally have the upper hand on Batman. He was not going to lose this fight.

He tugged his mask down over his face and pulled his hood up, sitting down to wait. The canisters were set to pop open whenever either of the doors opens, so that as soon as Batman walks in, the room would be flooded with gas.

The voices from the lobby cut of one by one, until there was only one man left. Jonathan could hear his panic, and smiled. With each second that passed, he came closer to defeating the Bat. With a startled cry, the man finally fell silent. Jonathan lept to his feet as the door on his side of the hallway opened, and Batman walked into the hallway. A small stream of gas began to leak out of the canister above the door, slowly filling the room. When Batman didn't immediately begin to hallucinate, Jonathan started to worry.

Then Batman cried out and grabbed his head.

Jonathan watched with interest as Batman proceeded down the hall. "Let me go!" Batman yelled, and Jonathan raised an eyebrow. What was he seeing? A minute passed, and Batman yelled again.

"Let me out of this thing!"

As Batman got closer, Jonathan's interest grew. Oh, how he wished he could see through the Bat's eyes. Batman slowed down, and his walking became more systematic. He began acting as he had back at the mansion, occassionally stopping to hide behind things. His behaviour was strange, and Jonathan suddenly found himself wishing that Zoe were there, so that she could try and figure it out for him. He frowned and shook the thought away. He needed to focus.

Batman was now a foot away from Jonathan. He felt his pulse quicken. It was working. He wasn't going to lose this time.

Suddenly, Batman's hand shot out and wrapped around Jonathan's throat. He let out a choking sound in surprise, then chuckled darkly. So he had broken through it. No big deal. The gas hadn't had any changes made to it, so he had expected it to fall apart eventually. It was the toxin in his syringes that he had altered.

"Looks like you need a little more." He said, plunging the needles into the Bat's forearm. The man grunted and released Jonathan, clutching at his head again. While he was distracted, Jonathan went around to the other side of the hallway, putting the bars between himself and Batman.

"Are you enjoying the extra dose, little Bat?" He taunted. "Oh, I won't rush things this time. I'll go slowly, so I can destroy you."

Jonathan watched as Batman resumed his circling of the hallway, watching with triumph. There was no way Batman would be able to stay sane after this dose. Minutes passed, and still his toxin held. Jonathan smiled. He had finally won.

Batman stopped by the bars, breathing hard. He had been staring at the ground, or up at the ceiling, but now he focused on Jonathan. He reached through the bars and grabbed the robe around Jonathan's neck. Jonathan's eyes widened.

"How are you doing this?!" He exclaimed. "I've injected enough toxin into you to drive ten men insane! What _are _you?!"

Jonathan jerked away from Batman and bolted for the door to the elevator. He was glad that he'd brought it back up and left the gate open, for it saved him time. The other door opened as he turned back to face them, and Batman ran through. Jonathan smiled. He was following him. Good. Even though his initial plan had failed, he still had his backup plan.

"Why do you continue to fight it, Batman?" Jonathan called out. "You're as crazy as the rest of us. You need us as much as we need you. To prove it, I'll flood the sewers with enough fear gas to break the minds of everyone in Gotham for a hundred years." As he finished speaking, he pressed the button to go down, still smiling as Batman disappeared from view.

xxx

Zoe

Zoe gagged and raised her hand to cover her nose. The smell was terrible. If she had to be in it for much longer, she was likely to throw up.

The sound of gears moving in the elevator shaft caught her attention, and Zoe looked up with hope. Was Jonathan finally going to let her go back up? When the elevator came into sight, however, Zoe could tell that something was wrong. The gate was up, and Jonathan was out of it before it had even touched the ground.

Jonathan looked over his shoulder at the elevator shaft, almost anxiously. He ran over to Zoe and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the door to the sewer.

"Jonathan? What's wrong?" Zoe asked, staring at him with a miz of worry and confusion. Jonathan looked at the elevator again before saying just one word.

"Run."

* * *

**So, was it good? Took me forever to remember what Jonathan says during the third time that you fight him... But I figured it out in the end. I'm not sure I did the scenes justice, though... Tell me what you think?**

**Be sure to review!**

**Chapter edited by: XxCupcakeAssassinxX**


	10. Not Again

**I'm so sorry for the huge delay! I got really busy with school, and then I got kind of lazy... Then busy some more. I understand if you all hate me now. If it helps to make up for it, I promise to try and get the last few chapters in quickly, since I've only got two weeks of school left.**

**shadowsteed: Thanks for pointing that out. I'd totally forgotten that part... I fixed it, though!**

**Morgan: Yep, I thought that, too. It was really clever of the game designers, because it kind of messes with the Gamer's fear of their game crashing.**

**Rehaniah: Thanks so much! I think he should've been in the game a lot more, but oh well...**

* * *

Zoe struggled to keep up with Jonathan as he tugged her through the sewer corridors, taking twisting turns that confused her with each step. No matter how many times she asked, Jonathan wouldn't tell her what was going on, but by the way he kept looking over his shoulder, it was clear that they were being chased by someone.

The sound of rushing water became louder as they ran, and they finally reached it's source. There was a large reservoir in front of them, filled with water. Jonathan came to a stop, letting go of Zoe's hand and walking towards the edge of the water. He stared at it for a long moment before his head snapped up, and he rushed back to Zoe. Grabbing her hand again, he led her over to a indentation in the wall and pushed her into it.

"What's going on?" Zoe asked for what felt like the hundredth time. Jonathan shook his head.

"Stay here, and keep quiet." He said. He pressed something into Zoe's hand before turning to walk away. Zoe started to protest, but the sound of someone coming made her fall silent and shrink further into the gap. She let out a small gasp of surprise when Batman walked past. He didn't so much as glance at her. Zoe couldn't tell if he hadn't seen her, or if he were just ignoring her. Once he had passed and would no longer be able to see her, Zoe inched towards the corner and peeked around it. Jonathan was standing by the water's edge, holding a cloth bag above it, and Batman was advancing slowly.

"Too late, Batman!" Jonathan called out. "One step closer, and this goes into the water. This cave will fill with your deepest, darkest fears, and you will never reach your precious venom roots."

Zoe frowned. Venom roots? What was he talking about?

"Don't do it, Crane." Batman replied, taking another step forward. Jonathan reached out even further, and Zoe noticed how dangerously close he seemed to falling. She looked down at what Jonathan had given her. It was a piece of paper that had been crumpled into a ball when he'd given it to her. Zoe smoothed it out. On it was a list of chemicals, and at the bottom, Jonathan had written a short note.

_Don't let anyone get their hands on this._

Zoe flipped it over to check the back, but it was blank. She knew what the chemicals were. It had to be the formula for his toxin. But why would he give it to her? Did he trust her that much?

Someone let out a sharp cry, and Zoe looked up in time to see something come up out of the water and grab Jonathan. It was Killer Croc. Zoe froze, her eyes locked onto him, unable to move. Batman pulled out one of his Batarangs and threw it at Croc, hitting the collar around his neck. An electric shock went through the monster, and he fell back into the water, dragging Jonathan with him. The bag flew from Jonathan's hand and landed on the ground near the water. Zoe's blood ran cold, and she finally had the courage to move.

"Jonathan!" She cried, running out of the gap and towards the water. Her eyes flicked over the surface, but there was no sign of Jonathan, or even Killer Croc. She was prepared to leap into the water to find him, but Batman hooked his arm around her so that she couldn't move, and she struggled to get away from him. "No! Let me go! _Jonathan!"_ She let out a choked sob and fell limp. She waited for the tears to come, but none did. It was like when she found Zane's body. Completely devastated, but unable to express it. Zoe straightened and shoved Batman away, whirling to glare at him.

"Why didn't you do something?" She demanded. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, and it took every bit of her will power not to strike out at him. "He's most likely dead, because you didn't do anything!"

"I stopped Waylon from eating him. After they fell into the water, there wasn't much I could do." Batman said calmly. Zoe's eyes narrowed. She had never developed so much hatred for one person in such a short amount of time before. She watched with an enraged silence as Batman bent over and picked up the bag. He walked back over to Zoe and held the bag out to her, ignoring the fierce look she was giving him. "Take this outside, go to the dock. Stay there."

"And why should I listen to you?" Zoe snapped. "What's stopping me from dropping this into the water myself?"

"Your conscience." Batman replied, turning his back on her and walking back to the water, disappearing from view. Zoe looked down at the bag, her anger receding. She felt drained, and she didn't understand why. Why was she so upset about this? She hardly knew the man. And yet, it had struck her harder than finding Zane had.

Zoe set the bag down and untied the sleeves of her jumpsuit, putting her gun beside the bag before stepping out of the jumpsuit. She tore a strip of cloth off of the jumpsuit and used it to tie the bag to her beltloop, then picked up her gun and slipped it into the the wasteband of her jeans. After putting the paper from Jonathan into her wallet, she turned and started back to the elevator room.

The darkness was a lot creepier than she remembered. The shadows seemed to move in her peripheral vision, and she kept feeling like she was being followed. The feeling got so intense that she broke into a run, desperate to get the steel door between herself and the events that had happened down there.

She finally reached the room and slammed the door shut behind her, continuing towards the elevator and pressing the button without shutting the gate. If she never saw that basement again, it would be too soon. She gripped the railing that spanned the length of the walls so tightly that her knucles turned white. When the elevator finally stopped, Zoe broke into a run again, and was out of the building in less than five minutes.

Zoe had to climb over a large tree that had suddenly grown in front of the door, then looked up at the guard towers, glad to discover that the men were no longer up there. Batman must have taken them out. At the thought of Batman's name, Zoe's anger was rejuvinated, and she clenched one of her hands into a tight fist again. She cleared her mind as best as she could, then started to walk.

The gate leading directly to the docks was locked, so Zoe had to go the long way around. Which meant seeing Zane's body again. She reluctantly made her way over to the other gate, a feeling of unease growing in the pit of her stomach at the thought of having to walk past Zane. But much to her relief, when she passed through the gates, Zane's body was gone, along with all of the other bodies that had been scattered around.

It took her twenty minutes to finally get all the way around the island. Zoe quickened her pace when she saw the docks up ahead, hoping that there would be a boat waiting when she got there. Surely, Batman wouldn't send her to wait by the docks alone while inmates on the island ran free.

Right?

There was no one waiting at the dock. The only people on this side of the island were a group of inmates up at the penitentiary that hadn't noticed Zoe yet. She sighed and sat down on the wood, staring down at her lap. As she waited, alone in the cold, her mind began to wander. It never stayed on one topic for long, beginning first at Zane and how terrible she felt about what happened to him, then drifting to everything that had happened to her since the night had started, and then finally stopping at Jonathan.

That was where her thoughts began to get jumbled.

She still didn't quite understand how she felt about the man. And now that he was most likely dead, which she assumed he was, Zoe felt even more confused. His death had hit her harder than it should have. Harder than Zane's, even.

A small frown slowly crossed Zoe's face at the realization. Even though she'd only known Jonathan for about a week, she definitely felt something for him. But what? Why did her chest ache so terribly when she thought about him?

Zoe's brooding was interrupted by a creak on the dock behind her and the sudden darkness as something was pulled over her head. Probably another sack. She sighed as someone tugged her roughly to her feet.

_Here we go again._

* * *

**Again, I'm so sorry to make you guys wait. How long was it? Four months? Ugh!**

**I've got some more stories planned, including the sequel to this one.**

**Also, I dunno if you've read the first chapter of my story Memories yet, but if you haven't, and you're a Final Fantasy fan, you should check it out.**

**Ciao!**


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